Your Co-op

Central England Co-op donates £4k to boost six charity and community projects in Northamptonshire

Six projects in Northamptonshire are celebrating after sharing nearly £4,000 in the latest payout from Central England Co-operative’s Community Dividend Fund.

A wide range of groups, organisations and charities were handed grants, with a total of £43,000 handed out to 40 good causes across 16 counties.

Kettering Buccleuch Academy has been given £1,200 to buy a washing machine, toys and equipment.

These items will be used in a specialist part of the academy called the nurture room for children aged four to 11.

The room is for youngsters who have missed out on the early nurturing years of their development and is described as a ‘home away from home’.

17th Kettering Scouts Group will use £550 to buy a new tent big enough to fit eight people. This will help the group cope with demand following a major rise in numbers of Scouts in recent years.

Charity Serve provides a range of services for the elderly and adults with disabilities and has been handed £458 for a brand new laptop.

General manager Jess Slater said: “We are delighted that we have received this money from the Central England Co-op Community Dividend Fund towards the laptops in our Wellbeing Centre.

“Training older people and people with disabilities in the use of computers, emails, the worldwide web and Skype is an important part of our work which will enable people to keep in touch with family and friends who live away, so they can maintain their independence and avoid social isolation.”

Ringstead Heritage Group, based in Kettering, will use £500 for a projector and screen to talk about the history of the village to local schools and community groups.

BrightKidz is a Kettering-based project aimed at increasing the number of children regularly walking or cycling to primary school.

It has been handed £650 to pay for a range of materials to showcase the project to the wider area.

Alison Holland, from BrightKidz, said: “All of us are thrilled to be getting this support. It will help us work with local primary schools to promote safe, active travel and get more children walking to school.

“We are really excited about launching the project and hope parents, teachers and pupils across the town will be keen to get involved throughout the next school year.”

Kettering Park Junior Academy will use £500 to help support a project to improve the outdoor space for youngsters.

Hallwood Road Food Store Manager Amy Marsh said: “We are delighted that these great projects and good causes have been handed a grant for the fantastic work they do in the community.

“Community Dividend Fund grants like this showcase how being a member and continuing to support Central England Co-op helps us as a Society continue to invest and fund vital projects in the local area.”

Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are handed out every three months to a wide range of applicants.

The fund guarantees that at least one per cent of the Society’s trading profit is reinvested in local communities in a bid to help projects to thrive across its trading area of 16 counties from the Midlands to the east coast.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility. It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence. The Society supports a number of charities including Dementia UK and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.